GOP Rep. Paul Ryan said at a Wisconsin town hall meeting that he now supports adoption by same-sex couples. / Madalyn Ruggiero, AP

by Catalina Camia, USA TODAY

by Catalina Camia, USA TODAY

GOP Rep. Paul Ryan reportedly has changed his views and now says he believes gay couples should be able to adopt children.

Asked at a town-hall-style meeting Monday in Wisconsin about the issue, Ryan said he would "vote differently these days" and still opposes gay marriage. In 1999, the congressman voted in favor of banning same-sex couples in the District of Columbia from adopting.

"I do believe that if there are children who are orphans who do not have a loving person or couple ... I think if a person wants to love and raise a child, they ought to be able to do that. Period. I would vote that way," Ryan says, according to video posted on the liberal Think Progress website.

In the 2012 presidential campaign, GOP nominee Mitt Romney said he supported gay adoption but at the time it was not known where Ryan, his running mate, stood on the issue beyond his 1999 vote.

On the issue of gay marriage, Ryan repeated at the meeting that he believes "marriage is between a man and a woman. We just respectfully disagree on the issue." There has been heightened interest in gay marriage since the Supreme Court heard challenges on two related cases in March. Ryan said at the meeting that if the justices determine that the federal Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional, then he believes it will become a "federalism" issue for states to decide.

WKOW-TV, the ABC affiliate in Madison, Wis., said Ryan's gay-adoption comment was the "biggest surprise of the afternoon" but it did not post tape of his comments. Ryan apparently changed his mind on the issue years ago, but the TV station said this is the first time he has talked about it publicly.